(Photo: Lunch break during a beautiful day on the river)
The Salmon Watch field trip season has begun – 6 trips completed, 49 to go!
Through today, six classrooms at three of our twenty-seven schools have enjoyed experiential education in the field. Spawning salmon have been plentiful on both rivers, and students have actively participated in testing water quality, gathering and identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates, exploring riparian areas, learning salmon biology, and collecting data.
Friday, September 16: ACCESS Academy at the Salmon River
Monday, September 19: ACCESS Academy at the Salmon River
Tuesday, September 20: Winterhaven K-8 at Salmon River
Tuesday, September 20: Grant High School at Zigzag River
Wednesday, September 21: Grant High School at Zigzag River
Thursday September 22: Grant High School at Zigzag River
A fish weir on the Zigzag River allowed Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife biologists to explain why wild salmon are allowed to continue their migration (ensure stronger genetic diversity), while hatchery salmon are removed and “given back” to the river to provide much needed nutrients. They also provided a fresh salmon carcass for an impromptu beach dissection.
It was especially heartening to witness the amount of knowledge that students already posses about how ecosystems work, what we can all do to protect our water, land and air, as well as why it’s important to have a sense of place. A great testament to our Salmon Watch teachers!
A big thank you to the Field Station Volunteer Educators, teachers and parent chaperones that made these memory-making and learning experiences possible.
We’ll provide a weekly overview each week through November, so stay tuned…
Recent Comments